I wouldn't say that it's the best, but it definitely is a good one. I don't know many people outside of my gym who do this, but the lead leg round kick can be a great setup for punches. By stepping down on to the kicking leg after landing the strike, you can put more 'oomph' into a punch than you'd think.

A popular combo in my gym is the inside leg kick into a jab, cross, then darting into an outside leg kick. By throwing out the jab before your foot even lands, there's virtually no break in the combination.

A lead leg round kick to the body can be used similarly, but you'll step down too close for a rear leg kick. I'd just commit heavily to a jab-cross-hook as I'm stepping down.

Another one that I like is a lead high kick (no switch) followed by a cross, lead body hook, then a darting rear leg kick. When your opponent blocks the high kick, it'll freeze him for a second, leaving you enough time to step down into the cross. The cross may or may not land, but it will definitely lift his guard high, leaving an opening for your body hook. That body hook will load up your hips for the darting/springing kick, which will tidily wrap up the combo by taking you off angle.

What I dislike about leading with a kick is that my leg is so open to be countered if I miss. And coming from a San Da gym, it's easy to get caught and thrown if my kick doesn't come behind something.

That's Thiago Alves's combo. I use it in sparring...inside leg kicks are helluve annoying cuz it keeps you off balance.

But you're a fighter so I think a lot of those basic combos may not be as effective cuz everyone knows the sequence.

IE: Forrest vs Anderson. Forrest landed one out of 26 while Anderson landed 13 out of 26.

When's your next fight!

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Marcus Aurelius: Tell me again, Maximus, why are we here?
Maximus: For the glory of the Empire, sire.

That's Thiago Alves's combo. I use it in sparring...inside leg kicks are helluve annoying cuz it keeps you off balance.

But you're a fighter so I think a lot of those basic combos may not be as effective cuz everyone knows the sequence.

IE: Forrest vs Anderson. Forrest landed one out of 26 while Anderson landed 13 out of 26.

When's your next fight!

idk man I feel like the basics are most reliable. I fall for inside leg kicks all the time. And I land them a ten. I think I throw/land more inside leg kicks than rear leg kicks. I def wanna work on landing more with my rear though.

My next fight is this Saturday, November 10th. It will be my professional debut! I'm pretty pumped!

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Highly opinionated but out of touch with the current MMA scene.

idk man I feel like the basics are most reliable. I fall for inside leg kicks all the time. And I land them a ten. I think I throw/land more inside leg kicks than rear leg kicks. I def wanna work on landing more with my rear though.

My next fight is this Saturday, November 10th. It will be my professional debut! I'm pretty pumped!

Where and when...will it broadcast. I got $20 on ya...who you fighting btw.

__________________
Marcus Aurelius: Tell me again, Maximus, why are we here?
Maximus: For the glory of the Empire, sire.

I've long been of the view that hands should precede kicks, especially the round kicks, because they do take much longer to reach a target then straight punches or some of the shorter, chopping kicks.

My preference for kicks will always depend on the positioning of my opponent. One of the things that I've learned from watching and talking to Dutch kickboxers, especially the ones who dedicate some time to making the transition to MMA, is that they are really effective at using the kicks based on the angles that they are engaging their opponents. This is something that isn't lost on the high level boxers, especially the ones who beat the snot out of me on a fairly regular basis now.

The lead leg kick can be very effective in situations where you are attacking an angle that is particular vulnerable. (The case I've found most valuable is that of a southpaw opponent who is standing a bit inside my lead foot. I've found that snapping the leg kick in against the thigh is a really effective way to interrupt balance that is very difficult to counter.) However, there are a lot of situations where kicks just aren't effective ways of opening up an angle of attack against an opponent.

Most very effective strikers will not make their legs vulnerable as a target off the get-go, and so it is often a very bad idea to just attempt to snap the leg kick out, as those who throw it as a round-kick (I don't use it as a round kick when I'm leading with it; like I said, I tend to snap it straight in on the angle, rather than bring it up at all) will often give up the better angle, especially on a counter punch. Against another orthodox fighter who leads with the lead-leg round kick, there's a lot of vulnerability created to a lead left hook. More generally, that lead hook is one of my favorite ways to start combinations in an MMA setting against anyone who likes kicks with their lead leg, because of how well it takes over the angle.

One of the things that I'm continuing to gain an appreciation of in my boxing training is the jockying for a superior angle that comes about among professional boxers. It is a lot like the grip fighting that obsesses a lot of high level judo and jiu-jitsu players. I've never really understood the purpose of a lot of the set-up head movements used by a lot of boxers until I've started to realize that it's about trying to find an effective angle for that straight punch or upper-cut that you want to fire off.

You can look for those angles with kicks, and certainly a lot of high level fighters are very effective at finding them, but that is not my preferred approach, and I think I'm definitely not alone in thinking of kicks as a generally sub-optimal way of dealing with opening up a combination.